XY problem

English

Noun

XY problem (plural XY problems)

1. A communication problem where a person seeking help (for example, from a computing helpdesk) asks a question that assumes (and implies) significant amounts of probably-incorrect information, e.g. "How can I use X to solve Y?". The problem is that X is very often the wrong tool or approach to solve Y. Often the problem is further complicated by leaving out the "to solve Y" half, which results in further confusion because, in complex problem domains, it is often not self-evident what problem the questioner is actually trying to solve.